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A radiator is a device that transfers heat to a medium primarily through thermal radiation.In practice, the term radiator is often applied to any number of devices in which a fluid circulates through exposed pipes (often with fins or other means of increasing surface area), notwithstanding that such devices tend to transfer heat mainly by convection and might logically be called convectors.
The Roman hypocaust is an early example of a type of radiator for building space heating. Franz San Galli, a Prussian-born Russian businessman living in St. Petersburg, is credited with inventing the heating radiator around 1855, [1] [2] having received a radiator patent in 1857, [3] but American Joseph Nason developed a primitive radiator in 1841 [4] and received a number of U.S. patents for ...
More simply they may be oil-water coolers, where an oil pipe is inserted inside the water radiator. Though the water is hotter than the ambient air, its higher thermal conductivity offers comparable cooling (within limits) from a less complex and thus cheaper and more reliable [citation needed] oil cooler. Less commonly, power steering fluid ...
For water-cooled engines on aircraft and surface vehicles, waste heat is transferred from a closed loop of water pumped through the engine to the surrounding atmosphere by a radiator. Water has a higher heat capacity than air, and can thus move heat more quickly away from the engine, but a radiator and pumping system add weight, complexity, and ...
Light water reactors, both boiling water and pressurised water reactors the most common type, use ordinary (light) water. Some designs, e.g. CANDU reactor, use both types; heavy water in the nonpressurized calandria tank as the moderator and a supplementary coolant, and light water as the primary heat transfer fluid.
Radiant systems that use water to cool the radiant surfaces are examples of hydronic systems. Unlike “all-air” air conditioning systems that circulate cooled air only, hydronic radiant systems circulate cooled water in pipes through specially-mounted panels on a building's floor or ceiling to provide comfortable temperatures.
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Some nuclear reactors use heavy water as coolant. Heavy water is employed in nuclear reactors because it is a weaker neutron absorber. This allows for the use of less-enriched fuel. For the main cooling system, normal water is preferably employed through the use of a heat exchanger, as heavy water is much more expensive.